| Ika Musume | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Age: |
Biological Age is Unknown. (10-14 speculated from her statement in Episode 2.) |
|
Weight |
0.0005 - 20,000 kilos (Her weight can change.) |
|
Race: |
Unknown, although her kind is speculated to be called "Squid People" |
|
Voiced By: |
Hisako Kanemoto (Japanese) |
|
Catch Phrases: |
"De-geso", "janaika?" |
|
Abilities: |
Tentacles |
|
Likes: |
Shrimp |
|
Dislikes: |
Humans |
Ika Musume (イカ娘, lit. Squid Girl) is the main protagonist of Shinryaku! Ika Musume. She is a squid-human hybrid who comes from the sea with plans to invade humanity as punishment for them polluting the sea. However, after causing damage to a beach house, she is forced to work as a waitress to pay for the damages. She later begins living at the Aizawa residence. She is voiced by Hisako Kanemoto in the Japanese dub, Wiphada Chatuisaphon in the Thai dub, and Christine Marie Cabanos in the English dub.
Biography
Like a squid, she has ten fully controllable tentacles that protrude from the top of her head like hair. These tentacles are very strong, incredibly dexterous, and can be controlled effortlessly by Squid Girl. They can also stretch a huge range and have a variety of offensive capabilities. The squid ink she spews from her mouth is noted to be of high quality, and is used for the squid ink spaghetti dish at the Lemon Beach House. Shrimp is her favorite food, and her strong craving for it is shown regularly. She fears natural predators like killer whales and sharks to the point that even swimming floats shaped like them terrify her.
She has a "hat" resembling the head of a squid which is, above all else, how she recognizes her own kind. If someone wears a similar hat, she will instantly believe that he/she is one of her own species, and without it, she will not even recognize a fake version of her own head. While it is called a hat, it is actually the part of her body that allows her to control her fins. Originally, she does not know this, so she believed that the fins had no purpose. After learning how to control them, she uses them to slap people such as Sanae. According to her, she will die if she takes it off, and it is shown on multiple occasions that it is directly attached to her head. When trying to forcibly remove it, it starts to make a ripping sound from the strain, inflicting enough pain and shock to recover from amnesia and leak squid ink from the tear.
Due to her small stature, she can adjust her weight in order to pick up larger objects without being toppled over. Adjusting the bands on her wrists allows her to go from anywhere between 0.0005kg to 20,000kg in an instant. She can float on an updraft at her lightest, allowing her to take "flight".
Abilities
Due to the ability to manipulate them at will, Squid Girl can use her tentacles for many purposes. She can deliver a powerful smack, wrap them around a foe and hoist them into the air, or coerce them through tickling. She often uses her tentacles to carry many plates at once while working at the beach house. Drawing with her tentacles results in hyper-detailed masterpieces. She also excels at drumming and physical activities such as volleyball with the help of her tentacles. Despite her usual naiveté, she displays a high level of intelligence in certain fields; it is revealed that she is a mathematical genius, capable of working with such functions as the Fourier analysis and the Poisson summation formula. Chizuru notes how quickly she learned how to speak Japanese and interact with humans. She also picks up English very quickly after Cindy teaches her. She can also emit light from her body like a firefly squid. She also vomits squid ink when her stomach feels queasy.
Relationships
Level of intimacy based on how one addresses her:
Squid Girl after a week with Gorō's mom.
| Japanese | Romaji | Characters | Relation |
| イカ 娘ちゃん | Ika Musume-chan | Chizuru Aizawa | Though she wants to be closer to Squid Girl, Squid Girl is wary of her. |
| イカ 娘 | Ika Musume | Eiko Aizawa, Gorō Arashiyama | No nonsense, fights frequently. |
| イカ 姉ちゃん | Ika Nee-chan | Takeru Aizawa, most children younger than Ika Musume | Respects Squid Girl as an elder. |
| イカ ちゃん | Ika-chan | Sanae Nagatsuki, Kiyomi Sakura | Loves Squid Girl. |
| イカ 先輩 | Ika -senpai | Yuka Nishimura,Tomomi
Mochizuki, Ayano Watanabe |
Loves Squid Girl. |
| イカ の嬢ちゃん | Ika no Jō-chan (miss) | Gorō's mother | Motherly figure, feeds Squid Girl until she becomes fat[1]. |
| イカ さん | Ika-san | Ayumi Tokita | Respects Squid Girl. |
| イカ 星人 | Ika Seijin (alien) | Cindy Campbell | Tries to capture Squid Girl and bring her to her laboratory. |
| イカ の人 | Ika no hito (person) | Nagisa Saitō | Considers Squid Girl as a threat to mankind. |
|
イカ 女 |
Ika onna (woman) | Aiko Saitō |
Considers Squid Girl as a rival. |
- Chizuru Aizawa: Although she likes to tease Squid Girl[2], she wishes to be closer to her[3], just as Eiko and Takeru do. The main obstacle to her wish is Squid Girl's wariness to her in general, and to her eyes in particular. During Kiyomi's visit, Chizuru open her eyes to convey support, but Squid Girl interprets this as getting the silent treatment. When Chizuru wears contact lenses[4], Squid Girl accidentally makes eye contact with her and squirts a slice of lemon in Chizuru's eyes to force them close.
- Eiko Aizawa: Although Kiyomi Sakura is Squid Girl's first friend by choice, Eiko is her first and best friend on the surface world. Apart from sharing the same room and working together at the Lemon, they often hang out together[5] outside.
Trivia
- Her dress is not an ordinary one, with at least 2 known features:
- Auto-repair in 15 minutes: after being ripped by protruding wire-mesh fence[6] and torn in half by Eiko[7].
- Non-sticky/instant dry: After a car splashes roadside puddle, Squid Girl simply dusts it off. After she sits on a chair with wet paint, she simply peels the paint away[6].
- Also, while not exactly a "feature", when she went tanning while wearing her dress, her dress "tanned" while her skin remained the same tone.
- Squid Girl is quite similar to Sgt.Keroro of the Sgt.Frog series, as both are characters plan to invade Earth for a reason (Sgt.Frog invades Earth/Pekopon to relay information to the awaiting Keron Invasion Army whereas Squid Girl invades Earth because humans are polluting the oceans), both ended up as a slave after they did something bad (i.e., damaging property), and both characters ended up befriending a human but decided to use them as part of their so-called "invasion plans". Both often have crazy misadventures while trying to "invade" Earth.
- In the drama CD, Squid Girl is shown to have the ability to break any material (such as glass) with ultrasonic resonance.
Images
For the rest of the Gallery see here: Ika Musume/Squid Girl Gallery.
References
- ↑ Manga Volume 15 Chapter 277
- ↑ Manga Volume 8 Chapter 147
- ↑ Manga Volume 9 Chapter 155
- ↑ Manga Volume 4 Chapter 76
- ↑ Baby stroller / wheelbarrow ride, leisure strolls, go to arcade
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Manga Volume 13 Chapter 247
- ↑ Manga Volume 15 Chapter 268